Montana Hi-Line Braces for Summer Without Irrigation Water in 100+ Years

HELENA, Mont. — Montana's Hi-Line region, stretching from Sweetgrass to the North Dakota border, confronts an unprecedented crisis: the first summer without irrigation water in more than 100 years. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) warned on April 14, 2026, that the state is entering its sixth consecutive year of drought, with 57% of Montana under moderate to extreme drought conditions as of early April, particularly in north-central areas east of the Continental Divide. Low snowpack after an unusually warm winter raises fears of early runoff, slashing late-season streamflows in key basins to 60-80% of average.

Farmers relying on the Milk River Project, which irrigates tens of thousands of acres around Havre, Chinook and Harlem, face the direst threats. The St. Mary Diversion Dam and Canal — supplying up to 80% of the project's water in dry years — suffered a catastrophic failure in 2024, halting irrigation and drying farmland. Though repairs brought the system back online recently, DNRC Drought Coordinator Michael Downey stressed the next 10 weeks through early June remain critical for water supplies, rangeland and wildfire risk. Streamflow forecasts for southeastern basins, vital to Hi-Line hay and grazing, predict well-below-normal levels without timely precipitation.

Major reservoirs like those in western Montana sit at or above average, bolstered by strong 2025 carryover, but eastern stock ponds and prairie potholes remain parched, hammering livestock producers. U.S. Sens. Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy, joined by Reps. Ryan Zinke and Troy Downing, urged the Bureau of Reclamation on April 29, 2026, to fund St. Mary repairs amid allotment cuts to 1.4 acre-feet per acre — down from over 2 in wetter years. Ranchers from Blaine and Hill counties report depleted soil moisture and shrinking forage, portending herd reductions if summer stays dry.